Bottled Paper
by FabledOrange
Summary: It was a simple piece of paper, rolled up and placed inside a bottle. But it was capable of bringing out her every fear. [S&K, spoilers, ONESHOT]


Bottled Paper

Dedicated to H. Ozuno, who keeps me sane.

* * *

I stared at it.

It was pretty simple.

It was just a bottle. A pretty thick, round bottle, topped off with a cork, looking much like the bottle I sent out to sea some time ago. It was bluish in tinge, and droplets of water trickled down its smooth surface, fresh from the sea. I encountered it a few minutes ago, as I was walking towards Sora and Riku – actually, I almost fell to the ground because of it, unconsciously stepping over it as I trod down the shore.

Eyeing the rolled piece of paper inside it, I took in a deep breath. The dark set of circles that was stamped along the outsides brought shivers down my spine. No, not again…not yet – we just got back from god knows where.

My hands shook as I held it. My mind was screaming at me. _You should give it to him now, Kairi! What if it's something urgent! People's lives may be in danger because of you!_

_  
_I gulped a lump that was starting to form in my throat. I stared at it, having no idea of what to do. Can they give me even a week? It had only been a couple of days – I'm sure that once I give this letter to them they'd hurry off right away…

…_he'd_ hurry off right away.

But I told him that I was sick of waiting – wherever one goes…the other will follow.

_You're being selfish, Kairi! _

I bit my lip.

Maybe…maybe it's just inevitable.

I took in a deep intake of breath and blew it all out. I clutched the round bottle in my arms and bit my lip for one last time – I have to give it to him, no matter what the results may be. Hesitating for a moment, I stepped forward and broke into a run, running to them as fast as I could to get this over with.

A few patches of the ground were illuminated by the pale, orange glow that came from the sky. It was already probably near sunset, I deduced, hugging my knees closer to myself. Ever since I went and delivered the letter to them, my heart had been filled with constant worry. My stomach churned continuously, and I felt very heavy inside.

I can't face Sora like this.

I buried my head in my arms and closed my eyes shut. I had dreaded the letter, dreaded it very much so. I can still feel the awful feeling I had when I was reading the letter alongside them – something terrible had gone wrong again, and, of course, it was up to Sora to save the worlds. As soon as he and Riku started to discuss about it in detail, I felt my heart crumble within my hands. I slowly backed away and retreated to this – our secret place – in hopes of them never finding me again.

Why did he have to leave so soon? Why did this have to happen right now?

If they can't have mercy on him, can't they have mercy on me?

Didn't they know how hard it was to wait for him to come back to me? To be left here on these islands, alone…to be left here, having no option but to stand by the shores as my memory of him slowly faded away. As each day passed, my memory of him crumbled and was swept away – I could only remember so little of him after time passed by. The warmth of his hands as he had held mine, in an effort to keep himself longer with me; his voice as he tried to console me as I stood along the shores, shoes digging hard into the sand.

'_Kairi!' _he had cried out, running towards me as I stared at him, trying to make sense of it all. I was standing on a small sandbar, all of a sudden.

'_Remember what you said before? I'm always with you too!_'

I bit my lip. Remembering things such as these never did bring me the brightest of faces. But nevertheless, I opened my mouth a bit, and said those words he had told me before.

"…I'll come back to you…" I whispered, particularly to no one. I felt a sob threatening to escape from me. No, I can't cry now.

"…I promise…"

But those words proved to be my downfall – those were the last words that I was able to hear from him before we were forcefully pulled away from each other, left only with the lingering warmth that came from his hand as his fingers struggled to grasp mine. But the earth we had been standing upon back then forbade it and separated us from each other. As I looked up to where he was standing, I could now only see his outline, dark against the bright blue light that was enveloping him.

It was as if he was still crying out my name as he went.

The next thing I knew, tears were spilling down my cheeks. Sobs were escaping from my throat, and my body was growing weak and limp. What had happened back then…and what had happened now – I never want to experience it again. The horrible feeling of being left alone in somewhere you didn't belong, or somewhere you didn't belong anymore – it was a feeling I had experienced when Sora had left me. If I was given a choice back then, I would rather be with him all the time and follow him everywhere, rather than to be left here and have no option but wait. Because…he made me feel different – he made me feel like I belonged anywhere he was, like I was complete whenever I was with him. I could never ask for anything else…as long as he was with me. As long I was able to see his goofy, lopsided grin, and his bright blue eyes light up at a magnificent idea. As long as I was able to hold his hand, and joke about the two of us going away together, even if that was just what I wanted.

Because being with him was all I ever wanted.

He…he probably doesn't know just how precious he is to me. He probably doesn't know how much it is for me to just see him standing before me, without turning into clouds of dust. I've seen it before, possibly a hundred times – those haunting dreams that bothered me nights on end, sequences wherein he would only be just an arm's length away from me before he'd turn, smile, and disappear. I would wake up in cold sweat and break down in tears later.

When I had held him back then, in that strange white castle when we had met – what I had said were words of relief. To be able to hold him so close and not have him disappear made me feel like I was whole again…like I was alive. It made me feel as if my suffering has finally ended…

I took the back of my hand and wiped my tears away. There would be nothing that can be done now. If he has to leave, then I'm left with no choice. I…I shouldn't keep him from where he's supposed to be. If I'm not supposed to be with him…maybe…we're just not destined to be together…

"…so this is where you've been all along!"

I looked up. It came from the entrance of the small cave, his soft, melodious voice – a tinge of worry was embedded in his tone, come to think of it. I immediately dried my face of tears and dug my face back to where it had been.

I could hear him walking towards me, his footsteps echoing throughout the cave. He kneeled beside me and put a hand on my shoulder.

I never wanted him to see me like this.

"…what's wrong, Kairi?"

"Nothing."

I was expecting him to say something to encourage me to open up. He always did that. With a mellow tone and a gentle look etched on his face, he was always able to make me talk. That was why I refused to face him. To tell him that I had been crying over such a stupid thing…it was absurd…

But then again, I was always able to tell him anything.

He didn't say something soon after my reply, though. Even though I kept my head down low, burying it beneath my arms, I could feel his presence beside me. He had sat down on the ground and kept himself quiet.

In curiosity at his silence, I took a peek at him. He was looking up at the hole up the ceiling, leaning back on his arms, with his legs stretched out before him. He looked so peaceful as he did so, most probably opposing how I looked like now.

"…something came up again." I finally heard him speak. His words brought a knife to my heart.

I didn't reply. I didn't know what to reply; saying that I didn't want him to leave seemed to be the most inappropriate answer that I could give him at that moment.

"We probably have to go away…"

I chewed on my bottom lip. Tears were starting to brim my eyes. With him saying everything that I was dreading, the pain I was feeling increased in amount. It was as if he was confirming all my fears – that I'd be left alone again, having no clue as to where he is, left only with the choice of waiting, without the knowledge of what was happening to him and if he was okay. I tightened my hold on my self and clutched my knees – I looked up at him.

I couldn't take it anymore.

"I don't want you to leave, Sora!" I cried out, tears running down my cheeks as soon as I found the power to get my voice out.

"Kairi –

"I don't want to wait anymore!" I continued on. I wanted to stop myself from saying anything else, but all attempts seemed futile. Something had taken over me, and I couldn't quite take hold of it. "I'm sick of standing here, Sora…I'm sick of watching the sky and hoping that whenever a star would fall down from it, it'd be you. I'm sick of wondering if you're alright, if you're okay – I…I just can't …" sobs suddenly came from my throat. I couldn't find the strength to continue anymore…what I had wanted to say, they all just melted away and came out in sobs.

"…I don't want to miss you anymore…"

All of a sudden, I could feel something going through my hair. It was his hand, which was parting a few stray strands away from my face. As he tucked a few tendrils behind my ear, I slowly looked up at him – he seemed fascinated, with his lips curled into a slight smile.

He looked at me with the most serene expression that I had seen him wear.

He made my heart flutter and my stomach churn.

"Where'd you get that idea?" He said with a laugh. "Of course I won't leave you alone…Don't you remember what you said before?"

I blinked at him, tears rolling down my face. He cupped my cheek and gently wiped my tears away.

"_Wherever you go," _he started, looking into my eyes as he smiled.

I sniffed and tried to dry my face of tears. I looked back at him, and with a smile cracking through my lips, I finished his sentence for him.

"_I'm always with you."_

* * *

Author's notes: Well that was random. XD just a few thoughts of what I thought what Kairi was thinking when she got that message in a bottle in the end of the game KH2. SoKai love, hurrah!

Ah yes, the last line is sort of awkward…I couldn't find a proper KH quote to fit. Hope you guys like it

Standard disclaimer applies. I do wish I'm Tetsuya Nomura, though. :D


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